The kids were up early and raring to go for our first full day in the park. We were hoping to get in a couple ranger guided hikes to waterfalls.
Since we were up so early it gave us a chance to take our time and pull off at the scenic lookouts on our way to our first hike.
The first hike we joined was the hike to Baring Falls. This is an easy child friendly hike that is 2 miles with a 400 ft elevation gain. This trail follows along the lake for a portion as well as through a burn site from a forest fire that happened in this area in 2003.
This would be a quick hike if you did this on your own, but with the ranger it was a couple hours due to stopping to tell us stories of the parks history. It was neat to hear about the huts and accommodations that had been located in this area and see the photos. Once we got to the falls then we were left to do our own thing and hike back at our own pace.
Since this hike was short enough we had time to head back to camp for lunch and to refill water bottles before we needed to be at the dock for our ranger led boat tour of St Mary’s Lake. One our way back to our campsite we lucked out and saw a young grizzly in the distance at Two Dog Flats. We pulled over, I put on my zoom lens and was able to capture a shot while the kids watched through their binoculars from their seats.
There are three ways to access St Mary’s Falls. You can take the boat tour of the lake which will cut off part of the hike, you can hike from the Baring Falls trail head or hike from the St Mary’s Fall trail head. The Baring Falls and St Mary’s Falls trailheads are located along the Going-to-The-Sun Road. If you choose the boat tour option you can join a ranger led hike to the falls and you will cover 3 miles with an elevation gain of 250 ft, making this a great option with young children. If you hike from the St Mary Falls trail head , the hike is 5.2 miles with a total elevation gain of 700 feet.
During the boat tour of the lake, the ranger told us stories and information about the park and the surrounding area, as well as answering any questions anyone had about the park. There is the option to sit outside at the rear of the boat or inside the boat.
Throughout the hike you travel through burn site and see varying landscape. Part of the trail is along a cliff over the lake. We had a great ranger for this hike who really engaged the kids and kept it interesting.
At the waterfalls, we were given a bit of time to sit and have a snack and look around. There were some families who had hiked in on their own that were enjoying swimming in the water at the falls.
On the hike back to the boat, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for wildlife. We stopped and watched a moose off in the distance for a bit with our binoculars. He was swimming so it was neat for the kids to see.
Have you done either of these hikes? What wildlife did you encounter?
Don’t forget to come back later this week for more of our trip to Glacier.
If you missed the first post about our trip to Glacier National Park you can find it here:
Day 1 – Getting our Bearings in St Mary’s
Day 2 – Waterfalls and a boat tour on the East side of the park
Day 3- Driving the Going-To-The-Sun Road and hiking at Logan’s Pass
Day 4 – Full day ranger led hike to Iceberg Lake
Day 5 – Quiet day exploring the west side of the park
Day 6 – Ranger led hike to Avalanche Lake
Day 7 – Family fun at Whitefish Mountain
Day 8 – Hungry Horse Dam
Day 9 – Two Medicine Valley
David Emanuel
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